China securities regulator probes Hainan Airlines Holding

Hainan Airlines Holding has received a notice from the main regulator of the securities industry in China announcing it had launched an investigation into the company to probe suspicions it had violated information disclosure laws, the former HNA Group company revealed in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing on the evening of Friday, December 17.

The Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) parent, control of which had officially been handed from bankrupt conglomerate HNA Group to strategic investor Liaoning Fangda Group Industrial only the week before (December 8), said it would actively cooperate with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and strictly follow requirements on disclosing information in the future. The investigation had been opened on December 7, it added.

Despite the probe, all of its activities are progressing as normal, it stressed.

A number of other HNA subsidiaries also received notices on December 16 and 17, including ST Haitou (HNA Infrastructure Investment Group), ST Foundation, and ST Haiyue, each of which issued their own respective filings. None, however, disclosed the details of how the laws and regulations may have been violated. The CSRC adds the Special Treatment (ST) prefix to listed firms that are experiencing financial distress.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia that the investigations, which appear to be the Chinese government’s latest attempt to untangle the risks HNA Group continues to pose, may be linked to allegations that shareholders embezzled company funds and illegally used corporate assets as collateral for loans.